The present invention relates in general to shrink wrapping and more particularly concerns novel apparatus and techniques for economically, easily and neatly mounting artwork and other generally flat items in a manner that requires relatively little skill, and tools normally readily available to many people.
Shrink wrapping is well-known and ordinarily involves relatively expensive equipment, such as commercial heat sealing equipment, hot air blowers or heating chambers. Shrink wrapping is commonly used for protecting artwork. The typical prior art approach involves mounting the artwork on a board, placing the mounted artwork between two sheets of shrink film unwound from a roll, heat-fusing the opposed sheets together along all four edges of the artwork, thereby cutting away the surrounding film and then applying hot air with a commercial heat gun to bring the wrap tautly about the artwork. It is also known to heat shrink articles by placing them in a bag and heating the assembly as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,337.
It is an important object of this invention to provide improved shrink wrapping.
It is another object of the invention to achieve the preceding object in a manner that enables an individual to neatly, easily and economically shrink wrap artwork.
It is another object of the invention to achieve the preceding object with an economical kit requiring relatively little skill or equipment to neatly shrink wrap.
It is a further object of the invention to achieve one or more of the preceding objects for neatly packaging artwork in a protective package that enhances the appearance of the artwork.
It is a further object of the invention to achieve one or more of the preceding objects while providing a convenient means for wall mounting.